Page 29 of In the Dust

I snicker at his response. He does have a point. I look away from him for a second to catch my breath. “Can I ask you something?”

“Even if I say no, you’ll still ask.” He smirks that damn side smile that always gets to me.

“True,” I reply with a laugh. Some things never change. “That first morning before chores, I noticed that the picture next to my bed had a crease in it. Do you know what happened to it?”

He hesitates, scratching the back of his neck while he thinks about his answer. “Promise not to laugh?”

“Yes.” I smile, crossing my fingers behind my back so I don't make a promise I can’t keep.

“Shortly after you left, your grandpa asked me to change the sheets on your bed in case you came back.”

I look at him, and I can see the sadness in his eyes. This is a conversation I’m not ready for just yet.

“I sat down after making your bed and picked up the old frame. You were so happy in that picture,” he reveals, looking off in the distance. “I needed you close to me, and that was the only option I had. So, I took the picture out, folded it in half, and stuck it in my wallet. Been there ever since. Well, until Burl told me you were coming home, so I put it back.”

I’m taken aback by his admission. My heartrate picks up, and my breathing quickens. I don’t know what to say. Nothing I say will be what he wants to hear.

“Oh,” is the best thing I can come up with.

He quickly turns his head away from me, shaking it slightly. Colton looks back to me, the sadness still there but he lets out a low laugh anyways. “Can I take you somewhere?”

You know what? … Screw it.

“I’d like that.”

* * *

Sittingin the passenger seat of Colton’s old Bronco sends me back to high school. At this point, anything dealing with him does. The smell of mint and cedarwood invades my nostrils, and memories of late-night joy rides fill my head. I roll the window down halfway to allow airflow, but all it does is send my hair flying around my face.

“So,” he begins, snapping my attention back to him, “how was New York?”

My eyes slightly widen as I roll the window back up. “That’s a loaded question.”

“Tell me a little about the important stuff.” He clears his throat. “You can skip any City Boy stories.”

“Okay, well …” I breathe in, not really sure where to start. “I decided to major in Art Studies, and I lived in a very, very tiny flat with three other girls.”

He shakes his head, smirking. “I bet that was fun.”

“It had its moments.”

“Were you close with them?”

“Honestly, we all shared a couple of classes, but I wasn’t as close to them as I am Gina.”

“How did you meet Gina?”

“I ran into her, quite literally, at this little coffee shop. She dropped a chocolate glazed donut that had sprinkles on it.”

“Not the sprinkles!” He laughs. “That’s an actual crime.”

“I know.” I chuckle with him. “I apologized at least a hundred times. Been inseparable ever since. We practically go there daily now, too.”

I look at him, admiring the way his features deepen as he laughs.

He begins to slow the vehicle down before turning into a gravel parking lot. “We’re here.”

“What is this place?” My eyes widen as I take in the giant field full of sunflowers. It looks like a thousand little suns are grazing in the field.

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